


Runic Worries

by Fledgling



Series: R6S Urban Fantasy AU [2]
Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-10-26 07:22:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20738423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fledgling/pseuds/Fledgling
Summary: Julien worries after a mission gone bad if he’s doing enough to actually be a part of Rainbow. Gilles is there to remind him he is.





	Runic Worries

**Author's Note:**

> Yay, more urban fantasy!AU! 
> 
> So, in this universe, Rook, Montagne, and Castle are all enchanters. They take their respective gadgets (armor plates, shield, and barricades) and enhance them with runes that make them stronger and more durable. Doc is a sorcerer that uses healing magic, as well as an alchemist. Mira is an artificer, which is essentially a magic engineer.

The workshop was silent, save for the constant scratching of pencil on paper. Julien sighed, crossing out the line of runes he had just written and tossing his pencil onto the desk. He buried his face in his hands, resting his elbows on the desk.

They had nearly lost Elena yesterday.

The image was still fresh in his mind: Elena, pale and unconscious, surrounded by a pool of her own blood. They had been overwhelmed by a force of White Masks, coming at them from all sides. None of them had gotten out unscathed—Julien himself had a stitched-up knife wound down his left calf—but Elena had taken the worst of it, a series of bullets punching into her as she scrambled for cover. Most of them had been absorbed by the Rhino armor plate Julien had provided, but one had pierced through the enchanted ceramic, striking her in the stomach. Gustave had been quick to reach her and start the healing process; she was currently resting in the med bay, and expected to make a full recovery.

Julien picked up the pencil, starting another line of runes on the page.

Julien barely paid any attention when the door to the workshop opened a while later, not even looking up from the book he had opened in his lap. So when a warm handed landed on his shoulder he jumped, knocking one of his knees against the bottom of the desk with an echoing thump.

“I’m sorry, my love,” Gilles said softly, “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s alright,” Julien assured, quickly setting the book on the desk. “I heard you come in, I just wasn’t expecting it to be you.”

“Oh? Do you get many late night visitors?”

Julien huffed a laugh, shaking his head. He took Gilles hand in his, stroking his thumb over the back of it as he looked up at him.

“The workshop gets many, but I only get you.”

Gilles hummed, snagging a chair from the desk next to Julien’s and pulling it close, taking a seat.

“What are you working on so diligently that you completely miss dinner, hm?”

Julien frowned, looking at the clock. He was surprised to see it was almost midnight; he had been in the workshop for over four hours.

“I hadn’t even noticed the time,” Julien admitted with a shrug. “Not exactly hungry, either.”

Gilles raised an eyebrow at him. Julien’s enthusiasm for food was no secret, and was often the source of some good-natured teasing. For him to not be hungry told more of his current mental state than the four hours in the workshop.

“Is it about the mission?”

Julien nodded hesitantly. Gilles sighed, lifting their joined hands and pressing his lips against Julien’s knuckles.

“What is on your mind, my love?”

Julien bit his lip, staring at the book on his desk, the papers scattered around it. Gilles followed his gaze, needing only one look at the diagram of protective runes taking up the book’s pages to understand.

“Julien, what happened is not your fault.”

“Isn’t it?” Julien whispered. “My plates are designed to stop this kind of thing from happening—that's their whole purpose.”

“And it did that job beautifully,” Gilles said. “I saw the plate she was wearing, when I stopped and talked to Gustave earlier. Do you know how many bullets it stopped?”

“Not enough—”

“Thirteen,” Gilles continued. “Your plate stopped thirteen bullets from hitting her, from potentially killing her. If she hadn’t been wearing it, she most likely wouldn’t have come back at all; even Gustave can’t heal a bullet through the heart.”

Julien said nothing, though the hand Gilles was holding was trembling. Gilles cupped his face with his other hand, pushing gently until Julien was looking at him.

“It’s okay, Julien.”

“Is it?”

“It is. I promise.”

Julien let out a shaky breath, closing his eyes. Gilles waited, giving the other man time to gather his thoughts.

“Sometimes I—” Julien stopped himself short, shaking his head.

“Tell me what’s bothering you, dearest.”

“Sometimes I wonder if I’m doing enough,” Julien said after a pause. “If I’m actually supposed to be here, in Rainbow.”

Gilles frowned, watching as Julien’s eyes danced across the room, looking anywhere but at Gilles.

“Why do you think that?”

“What I do—it's very simple, isn’t it? Just,” Julien gestured to the desk, “carve some symbols on a surface, introduce a bit of ink and magic, and that’s that. I can’t make myself disappear, or produce fire from my fingertips, or turn into a wolf. I’m just—me. And I’m not sure, sometimes, if that’s enough.”

Silence filled the space between them, Julien unsure and Gilles concerned. After a minute Gilles moved, wrapping his arms around Julien and pulling him close. The hug was a bit awkward with them sitting in two separate chairs, but Julien melted into it anyway, wrapping his arms around Gilles as best he could.

“Do you think Miles and I should be here?”

Julien looked up at him, obviously confused.

“We do the same thing you do,” Gilles explained, “just with a different application. My shield is not much different than any other without the runes I’ve placed on it. Miles’ barricades are tough, sure, but his enchantments are what make it near impenetrable.”

Julien was silent, and Gilles grinned.

“Plus, you bring more to the table than just your armor. You’re very handy with your MP5, for one. And you’re good at thinking on the fly.”

Gilles pressed his lips against Julien’s temple, rubbing one of his hands up and down his back.

“You care about the lives of those around you—that one’s pretty important. Maybe the most important one of all, even. You go above and beyond, push yourself to the very limit, to keep as many people safe as you can.”

Julien pressed his face against Gilles’ chest, mumbling something that he couldn’t understand.

“You have as much a reason to be here as any of us do,” Gilles pressed on. “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t.”

More silence as Gilles let Julien think; he could practically hear the gears working in his head. Eventually Julien sighed and sagged against him, causing Gilles to chuckle softly.

“How did you get so good at cheering people up?” Julien asked, tilting his head to look up at Gilles.

“Practice,” Gilles answered, pushing gently at Julien’s shoulders. “Come on, let’s get all this put away. It’s way past our bedtime.”

Julien nodded, closing his book and sliding it back into place on the shelf built into his desk as Gilles picked up the various crumbled pages and tossed them into the trashcan. Julien picked up the Rhino plate that had been sitting in the corner of his desk, staring at it for a moment before tucking it under his arm, carrying it over towards the wall of equipment lockers.

“You know, Gustave said Elena would probably be okay for visitors tomorrow,” Gilles called after him, “if you want to see her. We can get her some flowers if you want.”

Julien didn’t answer right away, taking care to stack the plate with the others. He stared wordlessly at the stack for a minute, tracing one of the runes etched into the surface of the top one before closing the locker door. When he turned back to Gilles, he was smiling.

“What kind of flowers do you think she likes?”


End file.
